MUSICI buy a lot of CDs. And I live under the misconception that people care about my opinions. And I like to catalog things. Therefore I've decided to keep track of all the CDs I buy and what I think of them.

Tuesday, August 02, 2005 :::

Done Gone Fire by Liz Janes

Rating:

Why I bought it: Because Sufjan produced it.

What I think about it: It's and interesting CD, if only because Sufjan Stevens leaves his mark all over it. Done Gone Fire was actually released a couple years ago, but I got it as a consolation after a snafu with their record label's mailing service. It's kind of a mixture of a less-manic PJ Harvey and early Sufjan. Wow. That is probably the most dead-on accurate comparison I've ever written. You can tell that Sufjan had a big role in the creation of this CD, since he is pictured in the jacket with prominence, and since flutes and chimes are abundant, and since Liz Jane's newer CD isn't nearly as good (having been produced by someone else).

What I think about it: I've decided I really don't like Turin Brakes. Every once in a while I think one of their songs is okay, and they create good harmonies and seem very proficient with their instruments and stuff, but in spite of all that, I'm still always like.... *shrugging shoulders* - meh.

Maybe it's all the nasally oooohs and ahhhhhs. Maybe it's the utterly boring lyrics. Maybe it's that it sounds so generified that it seems inauthentic. Maybe it's because it's so over produced. Actually, one huge issue is the graphic design of their CD case. You can't always judge a CD by it's cover, but you certainly can fault them for it.

Oh, and the riff from the title track seems lifted almost directly from Radiohead's I Might Be Wrong. Which you think would make me like it. But I don't.

What I think about it: I wasn't really a fan of the last Fruit Bats CD. It sounded like a mess of meandering folk strumming that never really went anywhere, even though the general sound and tone were pleasing. But all of my misgivings about their talent and potential have been erased with my purchase of Spelled in Bones. It's clean and focused pop music, replacing the boring folky charm of their last CD with some actual inspired pop songs. Sure, the strumming guitars are still there, but now almost every song begs for a singalong, and not a single one requires skipping. Some of the songs, like Legs of Bees for example, are so clearly ripping off The Shins that it would be unforgivable... if they weren't so darned catchy. But on other tracks, the Fruit Bats finally start to come into their own for the first time, like during Born in the '70s, where an already snappy melody is elevated and accentuated halfway through with a Brothers Gibb falsetto and some rousing handclaps. For a post-modern folk pop group, that's a huge gamble, and it pays off big time. The falsetto returns in The Wind That Blew My Heart Away, but it's not just those types of production parlor tricks that make this a great CD, it's the good old fashioned songwriting skills that make dan so happy. Yay for pop music. And yay for giving an okay band another shot at greatness.